Call off rallies, DPM tells yellow and red shirt groups

KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih 2.0 and the Red Shirts leaders will face action if they go ahead with the planned rallies in the city tomorrow, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) said.

The Deputy Prime Minister said both groups should call off the planned rallies and warned the organisers that there would be no compromise should they go ahead with their respective gatherings.

“Action will be taken against both groups, whether red or yellow. So to prevent this from happening, both parties should call off their rallies.

“The police will not compromise in terms of action that will be taken under the law,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.

Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is the Home Minister, said in his winding-up speech on the Budget 2017 debate earlier this month that Bersih and the Red Shirts should seek better channels to air their grouses.

He also said that if there was no yellow, which is the colour worn by Bersih supporters, there would be no counter-protest by the Red Shirts led by Sungai Besar Umno chief Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos.

Jamal has openly threatened acts of violence against Bersih and has vowed that his followers would “do anything to stop the Bersih 5 rally”.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall has issued a letter prohibiting both groups from converging on Dataran Merdeka for the rally.